"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers."*

That's an all-purpose title if I ever heard one. But I suggest this kitty litter clump goes at the top of whatever list you're compilin' at the moment.

"Hey, did you hear the one about the Chicago lawyer who found a 7-year-old Florida boy's lost dog and took it home to Chicago?

"And how the alleged dognapping Chicago lawyer now refuses to return the dog to the boy, because the lawyer says he gave it to a mystery nun whom he won't name?

"You didn't hear that one?

"It's no joke to Miles, the little boy from Cape Coral, Fla., who misses his dog. Miles was sobbing on the phone. "Please," Miles said, crying. "Can I have my dog back? Can I have my dog back, please?"

"On New Year's Eve, Miles' mixed-breed pal, Ariel, was staying with a neighbor while Miles' family was on vacation. Ariel looks like a Labrador retriever. She escaped from the neighbor's fenced yard…

"Unfortunately for Miles…[t]he family of Chicago lawyer James Foley, of the law firm Hoey & Farina, found the dog running loose… [B]y the time Miles' family reached Foley, he had the dog with him in Chicago. Foley had paid about $300 for shots, an air crate and airfare. He said he took the dog home because he feared it would have been euthanized at a shelter.

"You're going to write a story making me look like a dog thief," Foley told me.

"Well, how would you characterize it? Dognapper?

"No, there's those that interpret it as dog rescuer," Foley said, fidgeting, tapping his foot, looking away. "Isn't that a more logical scenario?"

"No.

Continued in Read the Rest!

"Within a day or two, Foley got a call from Miles' father, Michael Korzeniewski… But Foley didn't return his calls for about a week. Finally, they spoke.

"I told him I was going to make a [police] report. I think he got kind of pissed at that," Korzeniewski said. "He said that now that I contacted the police, it's going to make it very hard. He said that he had the dog, but he gave it away to some organization for handicapped kids."

"He gave the dog away after spending $300 to bring it to Chicago?

"Yes," Korzeniewski said. "He said it would be very difficult to get the dog back from them. I waited patiently for a couple more weeks."

"(Foley told me he gave the dog to a nun who runs a program for disabled children. But he declined to give me the mystery nun's name so I could determine if she, in fact, exists. He said I might abuse her with my annoying questions.)

"After a couple of weeks of no dog and no calls, Korzeniewski finally contacted the Chicago police. He also wrote a letter to Foley's law firm, Hoey & Farina, accusing Foley of dognapping. "I think that it is only fair that you are aware of the man in your organization who seems to like to play games with a little boy's emotions," Korzeniewski and his wife, Stefanie wrote.

"During an interview, Foley offered contradictory explanations, about how he didn't know it was Miles' dog at first, and how the mystery nun has it, but he's not in the mood to ask her for any favors, and so on and so forth. After a 1 1/2 hours of coffee at the Cambridge House Restaurant, with Foley in a booth, we finally pinned him down on the reason he's sticking it to a 7-year-old kid.

"Me: You were going to give the dog back until Mike Korzeniewski called the cops.

"Foley: "Right."

"Me: Why?

"Foley: "Because the guy's a pain in the ass."

"I told him that he should ship the dog back to that little boy, but Foley made out like he's the victim. "I mean, does he have some responsibility to me?" Foley whined, as if that Cape Coral family should pay him for taking their dog and putting them through hell because Lawyer Foley is upset.

"Curiously, he said the lawyers at Hoey & Farina were amused at the letter from Miles' parents. "They laughed at it," Foley said.

"It must be a lawyers' joke. Someone might want to call Hoey & Farina in Chicago and ask them to explain the amusing punch line. I just don't get it. It doesn't amuse me.

"As you read this Wednesday [February 9], Ariel has been held hostage in Chicago for 40 days. And I keep thinking of Miles, the little boy, crying, asking me, "Can I have my dog back, please?"

Dug up at Doggy Woggy Photo Blog who notes Mr. HighandMighty James T. Foley can be reached at:

Hoey Farina & Downes
542 S Dearborn St # 200
Chicago, IL
(312) 939-1212
1-888-425-1212
foley-at felahfd.com

*William Shakespeare - Henry VI, Part 2

posted by Harrison at 1:39 AM